Brussels Briefing

Lampedusa casts shame on us all

The room full of dark coffins on the Italian island of Lampedusa tells a story of failure and shame that cannot be confined to just one country or one continent — from the poverty and wars that force people to flee to the wealthier countries that do not want or cannot cope with the influx.

The Mediterranean has long been a graveyard for refugees trying to get into Europe, brought in small boats by criminals in unseaworthy boats.